likely packed with nails, packed with bbs, ball bearings. we have new information on the second bomb, as well. we will have the latest in just moments. this morning we are also learning more about the three victims killed in the terror attack. one mother shares her grief. >> she was a wonderful person. everybody that knew her loved her. >> the stories will break your heart but also teach you more about who was lost. >> then, as thousands and thousands come together in a candlelight vigil, new york yankee fans put the rivalry aside, and they honor boston in song. ♪ sweet caroline good times never seemed so good ♪ >> such a wonderful sight. it is wednesday, april 17th, our special edition of "starting point," the boston bombings, begins right now.

>> first up, of course, the latest developments here in boston. what do we know about who may have done this and why? the latest clue, newly released photos showing the remnants of one of the detonated devices. what do they show? wires. batteries. what appears to be a circuit board used in detonation. reuters says a government official who didn't want to be identified turned over these pictures along with images of mangled pressure cooker. what does it mean? how would it have been used? we'll take you through all of it. you can see what appears to be a cluster of bbs or pellets likely melted together by the heat of the explosion. we now know, john, a second bomb, also in a metal container, although investigators aren't saying what kind yet. >> and each picture you're looking at here, another include for investigators to pore over. you can bet they're doing that right now. also learning more this morning about the third person killed in this attack. it was a chinese graduate student, who was studying at boston university, one of the wonderful colleges in this town. we are going to respect the

family's wishes. we are not releasing her name. the two other people who lost their lives we now know, 29-year-old krystle campbell. what a life she had. so much love from her entire family. and also, martin richard, young boy just 8 years old. a candlelight vigil held last night in his honor. people packing a park in his dorchester neighborhood. as for the injured, some good news to tell you about this morning. at least 100 of the 183 people taken to the hospital, they have now been released. we are -- >> we're hearing president obama set to visit boston tomorrow just to make everybody understand how big this is to the country. there will be an interfaith service when we gets here. we're tracking this entire story for you live in boston, looking at who was lost, but also the important steps toward finding who did this and why. let's bring in national correspondent susan candiotti joining us here in boston with the latest. susan? >> good morning, chris. because of these photos, we are now getting a close-up look at what a killer or killers used to

kill and to maim innocent people. crime scene photos show part of what could be a pressure cooker used in the bombings. others show charred wire, attached to a battery. what appears to be a small circuit board. a half-inch nail. and a blood-stained zipper pull tab. another shows what looks like a massive ball bearing bb intended as deadly shrapnel. investigators are also combing through hundreds of photos from the scene, including this one, where a light-colored bag sits next to a mailbox. the before and after images capture its proximity to one of the two blast locations. authorities are scrutinizing every lead. the fbi needs help. after all, someone knows who did it. >> the person who did this is someone's friend, neighbor, co-worker, or relative. >> reporter: crime scene technicians also found gun powder residue. gun powder ignited inside the

metal container, building pressure, which caused the container to explode, and an explosive expert explains to pentagon correspondent chris lawrence. >> of course in a crowd like this, it was so tightly packed with people, those people took the brunt of the explosion, and all the projectiles. >> reporter: a pressure cooker with part of a homemade bomb inside an suv that fizzles in times square in 2010, planted by admitted lone wolf terrorist faisal shahzad now in prison. in boston, authorities are convinced they'll solve the case. but as of now, have no clue who's behind it. >> at this time there are no claims of responsibility. the range of suspects and motives remains wide open. >> and of course these photographs that they're collecting showing evidence they've collected from the blast field also raise so many interesting questions, for example, was there an instruction manual involved? does this person keep themselves? or did someone show them what to

do? and again they're asking for the public's help to help solve this matter. what was the motive? why? why did they do it? chris? >> that's a good question, susan. thank you very much. we'll be back to you soon. part of this story, who did it and why. the other part -- >> we are learning more this morning about the three victims who lost their lives in these boston marathon bombings, including victim number three. as we told you, a chinese national studying at boston university. some 2,000 people turned out last night for a candlelight vigil, paying tribute to one of the youngest victims. cnn's pamela brown is here with that part of the story. >> good morning to you, john and chris. what a turnout last night. thousands, as you said, turned out to remember the lives of 8-year-old martin richard. also hundreds gathered on the boston common for a candle light vigil. throughout the city so many people coming together to pay their respects, and honor the victims of monday's tragedy.

an outpouring of raw emotion from a community struck by grief. friends and family of 8-year-old martin richard gathered in a park near his home to remember him and pray for his family. his 6-year-old sister lost a leg, and his mother has a serious brain injury. on tuesday friends and relatives dropped off flowers at the family's house in the dorchester section of boston. martin's unforgettable smile has become the face of monday's senseless attack. his picture celebrating his first communion, and another with a sign that reads "no more hurting people" now emblazoned in the minds of millions. one of the first responders, dr. kim mills, tried to revive him. her husband matt describes the horror his wife ran toward after the blast. >> she did. she told me that she handed it off to the emts, she said hey, he's dead, and somebody said we need to start cpr. and she said, i don't think it's going to help. >> reporter: now he says his wife is grappling with the reality of seeing these pictures of martin.

>> you could see she just got quiet and you could see the tears welling up and all the emotion coming back from yesterday. >> reporter: the second fatality is krystle campbell, a 29-year-old from medford, massachusetts, a suburb to the north of boston. krystle was standing along boylston street when the explosion went off. her mother, heartbroken. >> what kind of daughter was she, ma'am? >> she was the best. you couldn't ask for a better -- >> reporter: krystle would have turned 30 on may 3rd. the third victim, a chinese national and graduate student of boston university studying statistics. the injured continue to recover and tell their stories. cnn's anderson cooper spoke exclusively to ron busard in his hospital room. >> were you knocked to the ground? >> i wasn't knocked to the ground. i absolutely knew that i was hit with something, because the pain that shot through my leg was -- was incredible. >> reporter: meanwhile, across the country, tributes to remember those lost, with the red sox playing away in

cleveland, the indians held a moment of silence for the bombing victims. and the new york yankees put their rivalry aside tuesday night to pay their respects, posting this message on the yankee stadium marquee, united we stand. and playing the fenway park favorite "sweet caroline" in the bronx. ♪ sweet caroline good times never seemed so good ♪ >> reporter: back on the streets of boston an eerie quiet on normally busy streets. for megan keilar, returning to the scene after witnessing the explosion brought back overwhelming emotion. >> i think it's just kind of hitting me now to be honest. i feel sadly for everybody. i'm really proud of this city. but it's, you know, people are waking up today and their lives are very different.

>> our thanks to pamela brown for that. again, on these streets you saw pamela talking about today, people getting back to work today. people very much at work. although behind us is really the crime scene where you see police officers right now. that area still blocked off. chris, you were there overnight, really, taking a look at the work they're doing. >> early in the morning, i thought it would be quiet over there, lights are on, people in jumpsuits moving in and out, agency vehicles going. obviously using that word they use, frantic. >> we want to talk more about this investigation and the developing news overnight. these brand-new photos we're seeing. we're going to bring in fran townsend, cnn national security analyst and former assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism. joining us on the windy streets, juliette kayyem, former u.s. secretary for homeland security and assistant u.s. secretary and a columnist for the boston globe, as well. thank you both for being here. i want to look at these photos right away. let's take a look because they are images that are really, really interesting.

the twisted metal of the pressure cooking we're seeing. we're seeing the circuit board which is in there. we're seeing now the bbs clustered together, probably designed to create the most possible harm imaginable. fran, i want to start with you. you're going to get a chance to look at these photos now with us overnight. what do you see? >> you know, john, what you see is all the forensics, to me, that investigators will find there. so the twists in the metal all will tell them about the force of the blast. they'll be able to tell what kind of explosives, definitively, were used. were the bombs constructed in the same way. the circuit board. every one of these small component pieces, regardless of how small it is, every one of them has the ability, some ability, to be traced. and i think people find that surprising. whether it's a pressure cooker, or a manufacturer for a black nylon bag or a circuit board or wires or even a battery, all of that has potential for investigative leads that will

allow the investigators to take that information, put it together with witness interviews, with photographs, with cell phone information, and try to stitch together the narrative and the chronology of what happened that morning. >> so, let me bring in juliette as part of the solution and also part of the problem, right? the good news is, a bomb like this, unsophisticated, not really a high-level, organized type bomb making. the problem is, if anyone could do it, how do you figure out who it was? >> well, it is not sophisticated. but it's not easy. and so, there's going to be a pool of people that can qualify to do it. and that's where the investigation is going to go. so when there's a discussion about, do people buy certain things, did you hear a neighbor trying to blow up something, the pool of people who would actually be able to do this and want to do it is relatively small. so the investigation, you know, we're looking over here. boston will be the investigation for the most part. we talk about, you know, the

reach and that is true depending on who the culprit is. chances are the bomb like this was made here because transport is very, very difficult. and chances are the person deposited it during the marathon. so this isn't over for boston. we knew that. but the investigation is clearly going to be tied to someone who was here, who maybe did a short-term rental. who was in one of those me tells. who probably constructed it here and moved it relatively quickly. you don't put these things in car -- i mean you could but it would be much more risky and you certainly wouldn't put it in an airplane. >> also the objective about it, found the pictures of the bomb, quickly, -- >> obviously we're having some audio problems from boston this morning. we'll get right back to that, and continue with that

discussion of the components and what that could tell investigators about who did this in boston. another developing story we're following right now, an envelope turned into a possible biological weapon against a u.s. senator. early tests show a letter sent to republican roger wicker of mississippi contains the deadly poison ricin. it was intercepted before it got to his office on capitol hill. cnn's shannon travis is in washington for us this morning following this story. what can you tell us about the investigation at this point, shannon? >> christine, we can tell you that the letter was postmarked memphis, tennessee, but there was no return address. that information from sergeant at arms, senate sergeant at arms terrance gainer. in an e-mail to senators an aides. we can also report that experts will perform more tests today to if, without a doubt, the substance on the letter was ricin. we know that a maryland laboratory confirmed the presence of ricin but the fbi says field tests can be unreliable. and that only a full analysis at an accredited laboratory can truly determine if the poison

was present. the fbi says those tests generally take between 24 to 48 hours. the boston marathon bombing was on monday. this potentially poisonous letter to senator wicker on tuesday. it's reasonable to wonder are they somehow linked? the chairman of the house homeland committee security committee congressman mike mccall, said there's no evidence whatsoever that these two are linked. >> just a coincidence, you think? >> he's not saying whether it's a coincidence or not. he's just saying right now that the evidence doesn't support any sign at all that these two things are linked together. so he's not speculating. >> all right. shannon travis in washington. thank you so much. let's get straight back to boston now, chris cuomo and john berman are there continuing their conversation. hi, guys. >> thank you, christine. having a little audio problem but we're back. we're going to take a break. when we come back we're going to keep talking to fran and juliette. there's a lot to be learned from these photos. >> we're also take a look right now at what people are doing coming together to help the

victims here. there are a lot of charity organizations right now, legitimate ones, but there are also some rip-offs. we're going to tell you how to tell the difference. also you know that we're following other stories from around the globe. margaret thatcher, we're going to look at the farewell to her. we'll bring you live pictures from there as we continue throughout the morning. the funeral just took place. we'll come back to "starting point" in a few. zap technology. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn--

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and while that leaves a little room for balls and tees, it doesn't leave room for much else. there's no room left for deadlines or conference calls. not a single pocket to hold the stress of the day, or the to-do list of tomorrow. only 14 clubs pick up the right one and drive it right down the middle of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. welcome back to our continuing live coverage from boston, the aftermath of the boston marathon attacks. we are standing really just a block away from where the investigation is going on right now. ground zero of this investigation boylston street right here the finish line of the boston marathon where investigators have been working around the clock all night. you know, digging through the walls, where they are pulling fragments of these explosive

devices still out of the walls. >> photos that really give a great insight as to where they are. they show the bomb. we have juliette with us. let's pick up on our conversation. what is the headline that we now know about where this was done? >> i think this is all about boston. i think given the pictures that we're seeing and the sophistication level of the bomb, it is more likely than not that a person was here for some period of time, or knows boston, lives here, rented a place, or knows the area, and constructed the bomb here and moved them on the day of, in the black bags, and dropped them during the marathon. so there is a whole bunch of activity in boston. and so the investigation will focus on who that person was. they may be gone now. and they may have ties to other countries. i'm not saying we know that distinction yet. but boston was a central place, is going to be a central place of the investigation itself. >> i'll pick up with that thought with fran townsend who is still with us, senior cnn analyst. fran, there's still someone out there. i mean, the fbi is asking for help, asking for people to tell

us if they heard anything in the days before this attack. but there is still someone out there who pulled this off. how does that affect the investigation and what are investigators looking at when they're trying to find the person still there? >> well, absolutely. and that's why you've heard federal law enforcement officials say they're looking at planes coming in and out of boston, even as we speak. as the investigation is ongoing. and one of the things we ought to mention is on all of these component parts, investigators will be looking for latent fingerprints. they'll be looking for dna samples. because somebody had to touch it to put it together. so it's likely that they will have left some mark on this that will be distinctive to them. so all of this will come together to try and help them to quickly identify. what juliette says about it being a boston case is absolutely right. we looked at prior terrorism cases, both successful and unsuccessful cases that have been disrupted, and each time you trace back sort of the perimeter you find that devices

are put together in close proximity to where the attack is actually launched. so that's -- investigators understand that and will begin to work from the crime scene outward. >> all right, fran townsend, juliette chi up, our thanks to you. >> let's get back to christine romans in new york right now. she's got other stories we're following from around the world. >> good morning. great britain says good-bye to the iron lady. the former british prime minister received full military honors in a funeral service at st. paul's cathedral. security very tight with more than 4,000 police officers on patrol. cnn's becky anderson live for us in london. good morning, becky. >> good morning to you. divisive in life as she was in death. there were some 4,000 security detail on the streets of london today, as margaret thatcher's coffin made its way to here, st. paul's cathedral. but very little protest to this funeral. some 2,500 well-wishers inside

joined by the queen, and the duke of edinburgh, prince philip. and the family, of course, of margaret thatcher. carol and mark, her son and daughter. and mark's children, margaret thatcher's grandchildren, amanda and michael, both born and brought up in the states. amanda reading the first reading, it must have been a very scary thing for her to do but she did it with great aplomb. behind me now, over my shoulder, the last of the invitees are just leaving margaret thatcher's casket has left it's on its way to the royal hospital in chelsea. it has been an emotional day for her family, but one that i think well-wishers believe was a fitting funeral for a lady who changed the world, many will say, certainly more so than any other politician. back to you. >> all right, becky anderson in london. thank you. the u.s. senate begins

voting today on several proposed gun amendments. among the first bill up for a vote, a bipartisan measure expanding background checks. recent polls show most americans support expanding background checks. few of those amendments are expected to pass. ahead on "starting point," bogus charity scams trying to profit off the boston marathon tragedy, already popping up. what you should look out for, next, after the break. we went out and asked people a simple question: how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone

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welcome back to "starting point," everyone. we are live in boston. john berman here along with chris cuomo. the aftermath of the attacks on the boston marathon.

really the crime scene is right behind us. we see police there. you see the medical tent there. that is where so many of the victims were treated right after the race. and then just on the other side of that street, still blocked off, a crime scene right now. boylston street the finish line. investigators right now going inch by inch on that street trying to find anything and everything they can. >> a local authorities say it's the most complex crime scene they've ever dealt with. and that means something here. this is a major city. they do a lot of types of criminal investigation. one of the reasons is because of logistics. the other is there's so much manpower on the ground they need a place to coordinate. just to give a sense of dimensions. 30 government agencies involved and boston's finest here, every day, 12-hour shifts. couldn't be more of an intense effort. that's the investigative part of what's going on. this story keeps having more and more dimension. people want to come out and help. that 8-year-old boy lost his life, a fund was set up. it was immediately flush with cash because americans across the country, they're opening their hearts and their wallets

to help victims of these boston bombings. but, you know what that means. scammers are also out there trying to cash in on all that goodwill. within hours of the attack, a fake twitter account was set up claiming to be associated with the marathon. it promised to donate $1 for every retweet. twitter shut it down. good move. so, before you donate, remember, stick to charities you know. >> that's right. go somewhere you know. stick to someone you trust. check with your state attorney general or the better business bureau. because, you know, most states require charities to register with a government agency. they know the right ones. be wary. be very barry of e-mail solicitations. be careful with twitter always. >> use your common sense. and yes, people out there looking for the bad guys, make sure that they get taken down. this is no time to exploit anybody's weakness. we're going to be here all morning. this is part of cnn's continuing coverage, live here from boston, giving all the different dimensions of what happened after the attack.

the big story, new pictures this morning, the remains of the bombs that detonated only two days ago here in boston. >> we're going to see what investigators are learning as they look at these pictures. as they try to piece everything together. plus senator angus king from the senate intelligence committee. he was briefed on the attacks. he'll tell you what he heard just after the break. >> the president, coming here. got a late-night briefing. he's going to plan to come here, have an interfaith service. we'll also have a live report this morning from the white house. that when this special edition of "starting point," in boston, continues. ó? ??çó

i'm john berman. >> and i'm chris cuomo. we're going to start this half hour with new developments. newly released photos showing the remains of one of the detonated devices. wires, batteries.

what appears to be a circuit board. unidentified, where thaed they come from? an unidentified government official released the photos to reuters to show what is going on. that official also provided these pictures of a mangled pressure cooker. we believe that's what was housing the explosive. >> in one photo you can see what appears to be a cluster of bbs or pellets, likely melted together in the heat of the explosion. that's the shrapnel the doctors have been digging out of victims in the hospitals. the second device appeared to be some kind of metal container. >> also new, in boston area hospitals some good news. 100 of the 183 people injured in monday's attack have been released. we're also learning more about who lost their lives. the third person killed, a chinese grad student studying at boston university. her name being withheld out of respect for her family's wishes. >> there is an ongoing investigation, a very active one. we are lucky that we have fran townsend with us, the national security analyst for cnn, former

assistant to george w. bush. she's been working the phones since this incident began. fran, i understand you have some new, important information. >> good morning, john and chris. yes. you know, among the pictures we have now found that the one that you'd like most to see this morning isn't in there. yesterday, at the boston press conference the u.s. secret service official stood up at the conference and said that fragments had been found, both embedded in walls in the surrounding buildings, and on rooftops. cnn learned this morning from a federal law enforcement official that on one rooftop in the area, they found the lid to the pressure cooker. that's a tremendous break for investigators. there's all kinds of information. the lid is likely to contain sort of trace elements that they'll be able to know better about the explosives, they may be able to find, as we discussed earlier this morning, latent fingerprints. there's all -- that's a treasure trove of information for investigators as they try to discern who is responsible, what was the motive, and how many

individuals were involved. >> interesting. the lid of the pressure cooker. we're holding a pressure cooker here right now, chris cuomo, in his very hands. >> it's just to show what a common household item this is. juliette, you see something like this, like really, a bomb? because we don't really know. >> so, the common attribute of devices like this is not that they're hard or that a particular ideology is, you know, uses them. it is really that they're cheap. you get these at costco for pretty cheap. and so, that's really the only common attribute. >> take me through this type of pressure cooker bomb 101. what would you do with it? here it is. >> you put the detonation device inside. what we're starting to hear is that there might have been some trigger through in terms of detonating it. so the person might have dropped them one place, gone to another, and then exploded both devices. but we just don't know that for

sure. i want to make it clear to your viewers, sort of when a government official releases something like this, they're essentially trying to prove that there's, you know, sort of progress in the case. but we don't know what else is out there. what else the government has. and so there's always sort of nefarious motivations for when someone does this, unless they're authorized -- >> but take one step back for a second. why would this become dangerous? what does it do? tell us about the pressurizing of the gases and then what happens. >> then when the explosion occurs, right? depending on what's inside of it, those pieces then hurt people. so the report said 100 people were already released. that's because their injuries were relatively easy, that's not a great thing to say, but relatively small in terms of removing shrapnel and pieces. that's what actually happens in war all the time. you get people in and out of hospitals relatively quickly. so that's sort of where it is. and cheap, cheap, cheap. that is the common theme here.

that's why the construction of this would have happened very, very close because these are so cheap. they're quite volatile. you would not put it on -- you would vobviously not put it on plane. even in a car you would be a little bit nervous about it. someone walked it here. actually that's kind of good. because then your perimeter as i was saying earlier is quite limited in terms of where was it constructed and how did they get it here? >> fran townsend we just heard from the piece of information we just reported a break in a way saying that a lid of one of these pressure cookers has been recovered from the rooftop of one of these buildings. i guess that gives you the sense of the blast, how powerful it was. fran, i want to ask you again, you think this is a key, key piece of evidence, because it really reveals so much, correct? >> that's right. and, look, we haven't seen the condition it's in, we don't know a whole lot about what they're going to get from or do with the lids, but we do know it is likely to be a treasure trove of information, and the fact, the

condition has been -- they'll understand the effect of the blast, and i believe, they may be able to, in fact, use that to trace it to the bombmaker. >> all right. let's bring in senator angus king. he's a member of the senate intelligence committee. he was recently briefed about what is going on. senator, thank you very much for joining us. you hear what we're discussing, that they found the lid to a pressure cooker they believe was used in the construction of the bomb. what were you told about what they're hoping about where this leads? >> well, this is one of the few times i can actually answer that question. because i can tell you that in our briefing we didn't get any information that you don't have. but you know, they're just tracing leads all over the place. i did want to mention one thing from hearing from the mr. mueller, the head of the fbi yesterday. there are thousands of pictures out there. and they're probably on

somebody's iphone from the picture who left the bomb. the number is 1-800-call-fbi. 1-800-call-fbi. if you've got a picture on your phone of somebody finishing the race or in the vicinity of the finish line, that's where a lot of this evidence is going to come from. security cameras, pieces of the bombs, they're sifting through a mountain of evidence. but, i suspect that somebody has that picture that may be the key lead. so, this is one where we all have a role to play, i believe. >> and senator, you made that plea that we keep on hearing from law enforcement officials for more information, for any pictures that people might have. it's something that we hear again and again and again right now. it leaves many people to be wondering if there's an impasse in this investigation right now. if they're running up against a wall with the information they have, and that's why they need more. were you getting that sense from your intelligence briefing? >> well, i don't think so, no. i think it's just a matter of

sorting through all the evidence. and of course we're in an age now, where everybody has pictures of everything. and it's a way of accessing all of this data. one of the other treasure troves of data, i suspect, are security cameras along the route. and particularly in the areas of the finish line, and buildings and restaurants and banks and offices. and but it's going to take an awful lot of time to go through a couple of terra bytes of security camera data. but i don't think it indicates a dead end. i think it indicates that they're just looking for evidence, you know, in all possible sources. and as i say, in this day and age the evidence is probably sitting in someone's iphone. >> and cnn analyst is nodding her head in agreement. >> impasse implies there's nothing. it's like a cold case. this is actually quite the opposite, which there is so much information coming in, in a good way, and it's just going to take a long time to process it. and we were talking about this last night, that if there's any message the government's trying to get out, which i actually agree with, is this is not going

to happen tomorrow. this is so much information i'm sure the senator heard that, as well, that it might be a couple weeks, a couple months, because there's so much information. so impasse implies cold case. this is actually quite the opposite. >> obviously all of this being coordinated on the federal side, through the white house. we want to thank the senator for joining us. let's get to brianna keilar because she's monitoring the situation. the president, of course, was getting briefings late into the night. detailing the fbi's investigation into monday's boston marathon attack. the commander in chief has more meetings scheduled today with other senior officials. the point here is that he will be coming to boston, wants to know what's going on. when he hits the ground, brianna keilar is there. what's the latest you're hearing. >> that's right, chris. president obama was briefed overnight by his homeland security adviser lisa monaco. she will be briefing him again this morning, along with fbi director robert mueller. as well his attorney general eric holder. we've learned that president obama is going to this memorial

service in boston, an interfaith memorial service to remember those victims of the -- of the bombing. those who were killed. those who were seriously injured. this will be at the cathedral of the holy cross tomorrow. it's going to be an emotional event. we've already sort of gotten a sense of maybe some of the, i guess stories that he may touch on. he was talking yesterday about how some folks who had run the marathon, even after going through that grueling race, went to hospitals to donate blood for people who were suffering, who were gravely injured, in the wake of the bombings. these are some of the certainly some of the tones, and some of the themes that he will be triking tomorrow, chris. >> our thanks to brianna keilar at the white house this morning. again, we have some new information from cnn analyst fran townsend who tells us that investigators have found, holding up the lid of a pressure

cooker right now. the reason is fran says that investigators have found the lid from this pressure cooker on one of the roofs of the buildings. actually right behind us right now and this lid could reveal a lot of information. >> one, not only does that show you the force of the blast. remember, just in basic, use a pressure cooker because as the gases build up inside it magnifies the effect of the explosion. this was blown onto the roof. also fingerprints, what type it was. where it may have been. all of these things, they keep telling us a bomb can tell a story. this is a big break for them in the investigation. >> when we come back we're going to talk more about this. this is new news just in to cnn. we're going to stay on this. also we're going to speak with a surgeon who rushed to the hospital to help the victims of this bombing. he describes the chaos that he saw just ahead. >> remember, the effort to save lives was extraordinary here. you'll see why when we come back. >> also there's other news this morning including the threat of tornadoes across the central plains. we'll tell you about that, too. coming up next. you're watching a special edition of "starting point" live from boston.

stay with us.

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happening now, severe storms and a serious threat of

tornadoes. let's get straight to jennifer delgado live in the cnn weather center with the details this morning. good morning, jennifer. >> good morning, christine. we're already dealing with thunderstorms right now on the radar with a lot of lightning spreading into parts of the midwest. over towards part of the ohio valley. today the real action really kicks in, especially as we get into the afternoon and the evening hours, because we have cold air to the west, warm, moist air to the south. well, this is going to be the fuel for severe storms. anywhere you see in yellow from chicago all the way down towards parts of texas. this is our slight risk category. anywhere in the red shading, that includes a chance for severe storms. you're talking about a moderate risk. we're talking many of these areas could see some damaging winds, as well as isolated tornadoes. what is causing this is basically we have these two cold air masses, and warm masses that are actually clashing. that's going to fuel the storms later into the day. christine, certainly everybody needs to have that radio ready. >>ever ever delgado.

problems with the reservation system forced american airlines to ground flights across the country for hours yesterday. more than 400 flights canceled before service was finally restored. it was a computer glitch that caused big delays and flight cancellations for american's regional affiliate, as well, american eagle. ahead we're continuing to follow those new developments just reported here by our security analyst, fran townsend, that investigators have now found the lid of the pressure cooker that was used in monday's bombing. they found this lid on the roof of a nearby building. plus, we're talking to a trauma surgeon who, after hearing about the bombing, rushed to the hospital to help. what he saw, what he had to do, that's next. our special edition of "starting point," the boston bombings, continues, right after this. zap technology.

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welcome back to boston. chris cuomo here with john berman. we are getting the latest on this developing investigation here. new pictures about the bomb. we get a detail that on the rooftop of one of the surrounding buildings, they found something just like this. the lid off a pressure cooker.

why? they believe, john, the bomb obviously was in a pressure cooker. they believe a lid like this, gives them all kinds of clues. >> the lid of the pressure cooker found on the roof of one of the buildings. and fran townsend tells us this is a key piece of information. poring over every detail of the lid. >> it shows the strength of the potential bomb used, the name of the manufacturer, anything that could lead them to who did this. you couldn't transport this on a plane. >> also going on, treating and caring for the victims of the blast. 183 people were injured here. at least 23 critically. 100 injured have now been treated and released. treated by some of the best doctors, best nurses, best medical personnel in the entire country. one of those, dr. arun maratha,

he was in his office during the marathon. when he heard about attacks. what did he do when he heard about it? he ran to the emergency room. doctor, thank you for joining us right now. so you were in your office when your wife called? >> that's right. i was in my office, and i heard about the blasts, and then i -- i spoke to one of my colleagues and went to the emergency department. >> what did you see when you got there? >> a number of highly injured people who were coming into the emergency room, coming in a short span of time. >> a locality of people all at once. ever see anything like that? >> never been part of anything like that. >> any injuries you saw? right now we're hearing from so many doctors about the metal, shrapnel, nails in the limbs of people. >> we saw a large number of blast injuries to the lower extremities, so this involved the bone, soft tissue of the legs and many of these injuries,

there were shrapnel, including metal pieces, nails, bbs, and ball bearing type objects. >> how were you able, doctor, as a team to keep so many people alive? it's so unusual, we hear about so many injured and so few who lost their lives? >> the credit must go out to a lot of people. to the first responders, and the citizens who helped stabilize those patients at the scene. they were -- they deserve a tremendous amount of credit and our ems personnel and they came to the hospital and everyone pulled together. a holiday at our hospital, and a tremendous number of nursing staff, surgeons, doctors, showed up to the hospital, voluntarily, without being called, and so everyone came together as a team, and worked together to help care for all of the people. >> is it true -- we've been told, you have to collect what you were taking out of wounds to

be used as part of the investigation? >> that's correct. these pieces, these metal pieces we collected them and they were kept as evidence. >> being shipped down to the labs in quantico, virginia, along with the pieces of the bomb that they are recovering from the bomb scene. the story we heard from doctors at a lot of the hospitals around here, many said last night, what a long day. some of the longest days i've ever had, but i've never seen this many people helping all at once. >> absolutely. i'm proud to be a member of my hospital staff. i'm proud to be a member of the larger boston community medical community. we have so many outstanding medical centers close by able to dare of the patients and everyone just stepped up. proud to be -- proud to be a citizen of boston. >> dr. arun ramapaa, thank you

so much. >> some of us want to figure out how to help. so much of the work done by and you your team, giving them a chance to continue their lives. what the rest can do? want to help those who have been affected by the devastating terror attack at the boston marathon, go to cnn.com/impact. what is the number? we got from the senator, call if you have pictures or anything like that? >> 1-800-call-fbi. 1-800-call-fbi. pictures, videos, want everything you have. go to the website, figure out to help with your wallet, use your head, call 1-800-call-fbi. >> ahead, we'll have more about the exclusive details. we are just learning right now here at cnn. investigators have found the lid of the pressure cooker used in monday's bombing here. our security analyst fran townsend breaks down the very important news, she'll join us at the top of the hour.

plus, we'll take you deeper into the lives lost? who were these people? they are not just statistics. you will hear a great interview with a woman known as grandma wilma, talking about krystle campbell who lost her life at the boston marathon. >> so touching so much love. watching a special edition of "starting point" live from boston. stay with us.

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good morning, everyone. i'm john berman. >> and i'm chris cuomo. we're live in boston. part of cnn's continuing coverage of the boston marathon

attack. breaking news. cnn is learning there may have been a big break in this case. the lid to the pressure cooker used in monday's bombing has been found on a nearby rooftop. >> that as we get new pictures from the fragments of the devices that exploded at the boston marathon. they could provide critical evidence for investigators. >> we're learning more about the lives of the lost. an 8-year-old boy who wanted peace for the world. a 29-year-old young woman with a zest for life and a third victim, a chinese grad student who just moved here last fall. >> we had a chance to sit down with the grandmother of the female victim. such a moving interview listening to this grandmother talking about krystle campbell. >> heart. heart. my whole heart and soul, she it was. she made me feel that way. made me happy. >> you get to hear from grandma wilma in a few moments. >> such a moving interview.

it is wednesday, april 17th this is a special edition of "starting point." live from boston. >> we are here in boston, because this is where the story is, and first up, brand new developments in the boston marathon bombings. what could be proof of the power of the explosion. national security analyst fran townsend reporting a pressure cooker, the lid found on a rooftop near the scene. this part of this new cache of photos that's been leased, showing the remnants of one of the detonated devices. >> remnants show wires, batteries, what appears to be a circuit board. reuter's got the photos from a government official who did not want to be identified. turned over pictures along with images of a mangled pressure cooker. mangled pressure cooker. in one photo, you can see a cluster of bbs or pellets.

those actually melted together by the heat of the explosion, which had to be really powerful. the section bomb in some kind of medical container -- metal container, although investigators are not saying what kind yet. >> they tell us every bomb tells a story. we'll find out from our experts what this could mean and we're learning more from those who lost their lives. a third victim, a chinese graduate student. we're not saying her name, because that's what her family wants. they want to keep her name quiet for now. the 8-year-old boy that just stole our hearts and now 29-year-old krystle campbell, living her whole life just there in front of her. and with martin last night. her babysitter talked about cherished moments she had. take a listen from piers morgan. >> every time i baby sat, it was my pleasure to babysit him.

his sister is also a pleasure to babysit. she is adorable and they are great kids. >> last night, there was a candle-light vigil held in martin's honor. people packed a park. it was supposed to be at the church, but they had to move it to the park because there was such an outpouring of affection. >> 100 of 183 people taken to the hospital have been released. that is wonderful news. we know president obama set to visit boston tomorrow. he will speak at an interfaith service. now, we have been talking about this investigation for a while. we have this new exclusive information, could be very important. we want to bring in fran townsend. former assistant to george w. bush for homeland security and counterterrorism. fran, the news is this. i will hold this up. this is the lid to a pressure cooker. we know a pressure cooker was used in this. one of the explosive devices.

found the lid of the pressure cooker on one of the buildings nearby. explain the significance. >> the first hint about this really came at yesterday's press conference in boston when a senior u.s. secret service official -- i'm sorry. a senior atf official stood up, talking about bomb fragments having been recovered in the walls of surrounding buildings and on rooftops and it raised the question in media, well, what kind of things would you have found on a rooftop? cnn learned this morning, right from the source, federal law enforcement officials, said they found the lid to the -- one of the -- to the pressure cooker device, on a nearby rooftop. it's significant, john and chris, because, of course, we'll learn all sorts of things to potentially from the technical analysis. you will get bomb residue on it. you may get latent fingerprints. all sorts of technical data. you will understand the source of the blast when the lid blew off to that degree. and so it's -- it could

potentially help investigators identify who was responsible, whether it's an individual or a group, and what their motivation was. >> now, we've heard about these before, fran, right? faz faz fazel shazad, used some type of pressure cooker device. how big is the universe of someone who could make something like this? >> studies have been done looking at successful and unsuccessful terrorism plots in the united states and when you look, the perimeter really is striking. you start where the device exploded and work your way out. time and again, investigators found there is always -- these devices themselves are actually the final construction of it, near -- very near to -- within miles of the bomb site itself, and so the investigators will

begin at the bomb site and work their way out, understanding that nobody flew in with this device. probably didn't come very far. may not have even constructed it a car distance away. likely carried by hand from someplace locally where they assembled it. >> all right. fran townsend. thanks to you. we'll talk more about this. talk more about the lid. new information about the lid of the pressure cooker in a moment. other news about these photos we saw overnight. >> that's right. we know the government is asking for all of the photos you have. call 1-800-call-fbi. give them photos if you have them. why? because we just heard about proximity. let's talk about what could be clues. susan candiotti here in boston following this. susan what do we know now? >> hi, chris and john. have you touched on some of it, of course, with fran. very important information we can see now in the photographs.

evidence that investigators have been picking up from the debris fields. for example, pieces of the pressure cooker. a black nylon bag or backpack that pretty much remained intact. bbs, ball bearings, nails, this kind of thing used as shrapnel. these are things that investigators have been finding and they will take them, try to rebuild this device, track down the history of these components, and, therefore, try to track down who was behind this terror attack. crime scene photos show what could be part of a pressure cooker. a small circuit board, a half-inch nail and a blood stained zipper pull tab, another that looks like a mass of ball bearing bbs, investigators are

coming throu coupling combing through photos of scene this is in the proximity of one of the two blast locations. authorities are scrutinizing every lead. the fbi needs help, after all, someone knows who did it. >> the person who did this is someone's friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative. >> reporter: crime scene technicians found gun powder residue. gun powder ignited inside the metal container, building pressure which caused the container to explode. as an explosive expert explains. >> since it was packed with people, those people took the brunt of the explosion and the project i'lls. >> reporter: this was part of a home made bomb in an suv that fizzled in 2010, planted by a lone wolf terrorist, now in prison. in boston, authorities are convinced they will solve the

case, but as of now, have no clue who is behind it. >> at this time, no claims of responsibility, the range of suspects and motives remains wide open. >> so these photos are now showing us what investigators have been collecting. they are looking for other photos. again, chris and john, so they can see whether someone might have captured the moment when these bombs were planted. back to you. >> all right. those photos, such a key part of the investigation. that's why investigators all over are calling for as many of them as they can. we want to talk about the investigation with congressman patrick meehan, a republican from pennsylvania. chair of the house counterterrorism and intelligence subxhoocommittee. he was briefed with the boston bombing yesterday. i am wondering if you can give

us as much as you can about the briefing. what are you learning about the device? >> you have done a food job of putting together the kinds of information. the key is knowing what the components may be and being able to verify not only it was a pressure cooker, but perhaps a particular type of pressure cooker. combined with information pulled from other kinds of oceans. gives us a chance to go back. we have real information about the device and ability to identify maybe where it came from, who may have purchased it. the beginning of a trail that hopefully leads to real conclusions. >> congressman, as part of the briefings what is the level of concern right now that a very dangerous person is still out there? >> there is a great deal of interest in part of all of the law enforcement officials to get

to the bottom of this. you don't know who the perpetrator is. i was a prosecutor, involved in numerous homicide prosecutions, and you really just have to let the facts and evidence tell you the story and follow those logically. it took about six days using images that were collected from all over films to be able to identify the bombers in london, and i think have you got to give those investigators who are piecing together. this is significant information in terms of the make of the bomb. you will have literally hours upon hours of film to review. together, you may begin to piece step by step, important critical connections that then allow you to move further away from the crime scene and toward who might be responsible for putting those components together. >> and on that point, congressman, any more confidence in whether or not this is lone wolf or a particular

organization, domestic, foreign, any kind of guidance on that? >> you don't know what you know until you know it. any kind of expert would tell you you can see signs associated with any kind of group like that. we did hearings and inspire magazine, the voice of one of the al qaeda affiliates, and the first issue they put out over the internet, talked about how to build a pressure cooker bomb, so you would follow that and assume it's al qaeda. but this is information that's publicly available on the internet and the kind of thing that anybody who was a lone wolf, a domestic terrorist. you can't draw conclusions, you have to follow the evidence. >> congressman meehan, thank you for bringing us up to date. we appreciate the information. >> our analyst has been giving us great information. fran town sand and juliette kayeen, telling us how significant this information is.

you brought us the information, the lid of the pressure cooker found on a building right near the blast. >> yes, john. look, we had the pictures overnight as many of the bomb components and talked about the kind of forensic evidence. that sort of technical information is exactly what investigators need to make that the next step to identifying who planted the bomb. the lid itself, because of the size and centrality of the bomb, the top of the device that actually exploded and gives it a greater life of producing real proof, evidence for investigators who is behind the pep be traces of this horrible tragedy. >> and, julyie juliet tench, so had to bay it. >> a lot of evidence from the lid itself. this had to be purchased

somewhere. the fbi is contacting people in the private sector, goes to places like costco and walmart, places that sell this sort of device, even small hardware stores. we talked about how good and effective the response was, getting the runners off of the street right there was important. the reason why, as fran pointed out. they really did preserve a lot of evidence. they were able to get people off, then you secure the eight or ten blocks and then you now can pick up all of the little pieces. so it really -- the success of the investigation really is tied to how well trained the officials were on getting everyone off to preserve the crime scene. >> some offices on the block still closed today. people being patient. >> it's incredible to see this is sort of grand central to

boston. this is where the turnpike hits, where offices are. to see it shut down like this, it's going to be a while. >> fran townsend, and juliette kayyem, thank you very much. >> 1-800-call-fbi. you can see how important videos, photos are, to see maybe who placed the bomb there. when we come back, we'll continue to analyze all of the new information to come out in these photos about the pressure cooker and figure out what it means going forward. >> also, we'll talk to investigators, fin out what they are learning about everything about the investigation, the bbs, nails, all of the things out of the walls and watching other news happening right now, including security concerns in washington about a ricin letter sent to a senator and at the

funeral of margaret thatcher. a special edition of "starting point" live from boston. stay with us. #%tia[ everybody has different investment objectives,

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new this morning, tributes and protests as margaret that thatcher is bid farwell. after a procession through the streets of london. queen elizabeth attended the service along with david cameron. several representatives of the u.s. were there, including former vice president dick cheney and secretary of state henry kissinger. security was a concern after monday's bombing in boston, but there were no issues. early tests show a letter sent to a republican senator from mississippi contained a lethal biological agent. more tests will be conducted to see if it contained ricin. it was addressed to roger wicker. intercepted before it reached his office. it had a memphis post office.

wicker now getting extra security. senators begin voting on amendments to a gun control bill. the bipartisan deal on background checks will be the first vote, along with proposal to ban military style assault weapons. the debate could last two weeks or more. new developments in kaufman county, texas. police are trying to solve the murders of the local district attorney and his wife. former kaufman county justice of the peace eric williams, is accused of using his computer to send a threat to police. it alleged another threat would take place if police did not meet the writer's demands. venezuela turning violent after a close presidential election. seven deaths reported in result. c caprilles lost to nicolas

maduro. caprile search claims there were many election violations. stock market, down one day, up the next, dow plunged 266 points monday, then rallied 158 points yesterday. down amid mixed global news. bank of america shares falling 3%. the bank made more than 2.5 billion last quarter. wall street expected better. ahead on "starting point," chris cuomo sits down with the grandmother of one of the victims, krystle campbell. >> heart. my whole heart and soul, she was in. and she made me feel that way. she made me happy. >> the full interview with wilma campbell, coming up. buy one like mine because it's so safe, right? yeah... yeah... i know what you've heard -- iihs top safety pick for $159 a month -- but, i wish it was more dangerous, like a monster truck or dune buggy!

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welcome back. we are live in boston. i'm chris cuomo with john berman. part of cnn's continuing coverage of attacks at the boston marathon. a pressure cooker lid found on a roof near the boston marathon finish line. we'll talk to our analyst about what it could mean in the investigation. >> brand new images that came to us overnight as well. giving a different view. one we have not seen, of the aftermath of the marathon bombings. we'll take a look, right after the break. and new information about the 18 victims. some who have been taken home. that's good news. and we're going to have presser information. we'll go live to one of the hospitals and find out what's happening to those still being

treated. >> you're watching a special edition of "starting point" live from boston. more information straight ahead. stay with us.

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welcome back to "starting point," everyone. i'm john berman. >> and i'm chris cuomo. we start the half hour with brand new developments in boston. cnn security analyst fran townsend reporting that a pressure cooker lid has been found on a rooftop near the scene. >> new photos just released show the remnants of one of the detonated devices. show wires, batteries, what appears to be a circuit board, and a government official didn't want to be identified. we got our first glimpse of these, along with the images of the mangled pressure cooker.

in one photo, you can see a cluster of bbs, pellets, melted together during the heat of the explosion. we know the second bomb was also in a metal container, although investigators are not saying what kind yet. >> the investigation is moving quickly. but information will come when it comes. the third person whose life was taken in the attacks. a chinese grad student studying at boston university. not releasing her name. respecting her family's wishes, they want it kept quiet. >> fran townsend, cnn national security analyst, homeland security adviser to george w. bush, as assistant to the president. broke the news a short while ago of the key finding now from investigators from the crime scene behind us, they found the lid of the pressure cooker use as a bomb nearby on a rooftop. what more you can tell us? >> investigators will go very chin rately over all the

forensic -- all of the forensic information that they can clean, off these parts. are you showing pictures now. in addition to the pictures of the pressure cooker post explosion, they have also found this lid of the pressure cooker on a nearby roof. that says a lot about this. the force of this explosion, look, that's not a surprise i think to us or our viewers when you realize the horrific injuries that these explosions cause. these fragments, regardless of size, are clues to who perpetrated this. it was a group or individual? latent fingerprints or dna left on any pieces while it is being constructed that can be found by investigators to help find the perpetrator. really important for the victims and their families. >> all right. fran townsend, key piece of information, the lid to the pressure cooker, found on one of the buildings nearby.

thank you for the information. >> reporting two prongs to the story. the investigation, who did it and why? and those who were affected. lost their lives, hurt, and families trying to rebuild. good news. more than half of the 183 people injured in monday's deadly boston marathon attack have now been released from area hospitals. it really is amazing when you think about it, how much triage was done. so much tria, people starting to go home. elizabeth cohen joins us live from brigham & women's hospital. where many are being treated. elizabeth what is the latest about what you could tell us. >> what i can tell you, there is a wide variety of injuries out there. the least severe have begun home. the most severe are the ones that required amputations. maybe about a dozen people or so who required amputations. some a single leg, others two legs. many of these needed to be what

is called above the knee amputations because they were so severe. but there are other people doing much better. i want to tell you about a couple who we heard about. their names are nicholas and lee ann yani. ten feet away from the explosion and they managed somehow to get into a nearby store. nicholas looked at his wife. saw blood gushing out. went to the rack on the store, took down shirts, made a tourniquet for his wife. she said i'm okay, go help some other people. he helped other people that had fallen to the ground. and he looked up, saw his wife getting into an ambulance, got on an ambulance with her, went to tuft's medical center, and here is what he said when she got out of surgery. >> you know, it was like -- like -- you know, like home, you fell safe, because you know the people you love are there with you and you know they are okay. >> reporter: yesterday i

interviewed dr. burke at the boston university medical center, another hospital treating the injured and right now they are having a press conference. let's listen in. >> caregivers, let's be honest. we do the best we can do. >> you tell them their life is at risk if you don't do this measure. >> that certainly is the case, certainly in the beginning. >> can you describe what you saw in the beginning. 23 patients that came in? >> right. >> what did you see? >> this is the trauma service. i was not here in the initial event. i was out of the state and came back. we saw the -- these are the injuries we see, but never quite as -- not this many all at the same time. and they -- the injuries are related to the -- to the device and the form of trauma from fragments and the blast. >> charp nell.

>> fragments, that's what we call -- fragments, shrapnel. fragments of the bomb itself perhaps and things around where the bomb went off. >> have you been able to identify anything? >> we have taken off large quantities of pieces of things. hard to really tell exactly what they are. we sent them to the pathologist and they are available to the police. >> surgeons describe some of the shrapnel. the shrapnel over there. some was directly involved with the nails or the bearings. is that the same conclusion here? >> we were not really making any judgments about where these fragments come from. some of them are metal, some are plastic, some are wood, some are concrete, it's really difficult to know. so it doesn't really matter to us. we're just trying to deal with the consequences of those fragments. >> dr. burke, can you talk about the first responders and the critical role they played in getting patients to you?

>> i cannot sing the praises higher than for the ems services. they were there, tremendous ag d triaged patients, they brought them to hospitals to allow them to step up and take care of patients if they brought them all one place, that place would be overwhelmed. that didn't happen, because boston ems thinks about this, they are organized, they cannot be praised higher. >> do you think boston is unique in its ability to handle such a large-scale tragedy like this? >> no, i don't think so. i think most cities have systems for this and, you know, nothing is perfect, but most places try to anticipate things like this. boston is unique, we have a lot of places that are level one trauma centers and close to each other, and that works well in a situation like this that can be helpful. and i this i it was in this case. >> can you explain -- i don't

know -- you can explain how it worked when something like this happens? all calls go through boston ems? >> a central system for dispatching this and they work together. >> that's how the 20 or 25 people at each hospital, and you didn't have 75 at one? >> right. right. i'm sure if you ask them, they can tell you all about it. being organized is really important. being organized in the beginning helps patients do well. >> a little bit medically about the challenges you all faced in the early hours and now going forward what surgeons and other kinds of specialists will be doing? >> initially we're worried about life saving maneuvers, stopping the bleeding, things like that. stabilizing patients to deal with their injuries over time. but it's really important for people to realize they get injured really quickly, but it

takes a long time for people to get better and lots of steps in that process. so now when we are evaluating their wounds, making sure there is not any other processes going on, trying to prevent infections, and allowing them to be -- for these wounds to heal and eventually for the patients to have the wounds closed and then start the rehabilitation process. so it's a continuum and it begins in the beginning and it's continuous. >> when does -- i'm sorry, when does care for -- begin? >> this is a subject very important and we start from the beginning, we try to get -- be sensitive, work with these patients and their families. ptsd is not just about the patients, it's about their families as well. we work from them from the beginning. there is no -- as for as i know, any magic bullets to prevent

this, but we need -- again, it's a process. and it evolves over time and something people need to not forget about, it's something that can be with these patients forever and we can actually help them. >> what was the majority of injuries that you saw. we talked about ems assessing who goes where. is that something you specialize in? >> no, we're a level one trauma center, see all kinds of injuries, so we saw that be kin of injuries that were kind this kind of incident. so blast injuries, fragment injuries, this particular event was very much focused on the lower extremities it seems and that was true for all of the other hospitals, we also saw the same kind of stuff and the ems people take these patients, depending on how sick they are, to the highest level of care, a level one trauma center like boston medical center. >> you mentioned ongoing surgeries, you can explain to us initially things like

amputations. what more surgeries -- >> initially we do the life- saving things which sometimes include amputation. the next step is to re-evaluate wounds. because of the capricious nature of the trauma you may not tell all of the things that have happened and time is a really important concept here in terms of the wounds and what happens to them. and you don't want to close a wound definitively. you bring the skin back together over the damaged tissues until you know the tissues underneath are viable and not infected and the foreign bodies are removed. if you close them too early, then those wounds will become infected a and you are startingr again. a very much a process. >> and the operations to clean out wounds or something? >> exactly. right. clean wounds out. making sure debris is gone, making sure the tissues that

remain are availabviable. >> physical therapy? >> in general we start with getting physical therapists involved. a lot going on for patients. you don't want to overwhelm them. generally speaking, we like to think we're starting the process of rehabilitation from the moment these patients hit the door. >> i believe yesterday you said that some of the life-threatening injuries. today are things looking better? >> initialling, we had 10 or 11 that were critical. now we have 2. they are still critically ill. most patients are making good progress. >> do you expect the patients will survive? >> yes, i do. but until they are home, i won't be satisfied.

>> how are you able to go from 10 or 12 to less than 2? >> we operate on them, they no longer need as much critical care. so they are getting better. >> critical -- critical, two. ten serious and seven fair. we move through the process and they get to go home, which is the goal. >> and the 35-year-old, that patient -- is that patient -- >> still critically ill. >> they are both. and it's hard for us to judge. we haven't -- we have some runners. i cannot -- i cannot give you the breakdown of who is what. it seems to be observe eobserve.

>> do you know -- >> off the top of my head. reflects the general population. >> the two critically ill patients, are you able to assess, leg injuries or -- >> they are both. they are both. some are pulmonary, many are extremity, and the consequences of what -- when a person gets critically injured it may just be to extremities, but it has systemic affects, makes them sick all over, makes their lungs not work, hearts not work, and depending on what you bring to the table at the time of the trauma it can be different. >> has the hospital turned over any evidence yet? >> not that i'm aware of. i'm sure it's available. you know, the general process where we -- when we remove things from people that we send to the pathologist, that's our process, and so they would be available i would assume. >> what type of -- >> talking about fragments taken out of victims in this case.

>> a 35-year-old still critically ill. >> 35 years old. >> a lot of information out in how because so many of these people had family and young children in the family, how is that dealt with when they are brought into their hotel rooms or hospital rooms. how do you care for the family members when the patient is so critically injured in that way? >> well, it's very difficult. important thing to remember it's more than just the patient and the people needs to be involved. at least our process is to be very up front and honest with the people and let them know as much information as we have. let them know that this is a continuum, it changes over time. families are different. people really want to know everything, some people really have it, some would rather have information more slowly.

and i think in general, people want to know what's going on and we're very forthcoming about that, and as honest as possible in the situation that changes over time. but it's very important to have a process where we are involved in that. because these patients don't get better unless these families are whole and able to dare of them. that's another important concept. we need to treat the family as much as the patients. the patient won't do as well. that's the goal. >> and the injuries -- we have a few injuries where the lungs have seemed to be damaged from the blast or being thrown. it's hard to tell sometimes and that -- the lungs become bruised and then they don't function as well. and and the kind of injuries are supported and that's what we find. the patients in question are going to get better.

but, you know, again, i had not be happy until they are home. i will not be satisfied. >> any other questions? >> doctor, i don't know if you have any military experience or anything, have you seen wounds like this in your career? >> we see wounds like this, not so much from blast injuries and never in this volume. i don't personally have military experience, but many of my colleagues do, and they have made themselves available and there is -- you know, we won't reinvent the wheel. when people have experience, we are going to use it. it improves patient care. >> from what you have heard from other hospitals, they -- the patients coming in were very alert. >> that was our case as well. many of these patients were alert enough to know what was going on. some of them weren't because they were so critically ill and the ones who got really taken quickly to the operating room

generally were the latter, but, yeah, in patients, we involve them in their care as much as we can. they get better when they are involved. they get better better. >> what was the most dire injuries you saw? >> it's hard to classify them. the major ones that were life threatening involved large amounts of soft tissue. the vascular system was needed to be repaired. if we don't get to those quickly and the ems is not on top of things that they can bleed to death and that was some of the issues that were going on. >> anymore about what specific injuries are? >> some of them have pulmonary injuries, and others are extremeity injuries.

>> you can tell us the ages and sex of patients? >> one who is five. and another in his 60s i think. i think so, yeah. and i got the breakdown of six males and 13 females, not quite the general population. >> and the 5-year-old person. >> a male. >> and the 60-year-old. >> the 60-year-old male. >> you mentioned a couple of times about preventing infections. >> yes. >> given the surgeries they had, is that because of the fragments that might have been embedded? >> it's both. it has to do with the size of the fragments and being able to remove them. some of them are tiny and you can't really find them. it has to do with how much damage done to the local tissues around. the only way we get people to

prevention infection is the body needs to fight infection. you need to allow the body to do that. and we've learned to do that, we need to make sure tissues are available, blood supply and adequate, and foreign objects removed as much as possible and the body can prevent infection and/or treat infection that has started. antibiotics help, but it takes more than that. >> what is in store for patients going forward, treatment, surgery, what is keeping your staff up at night? >> we worry about a lot of different things. there are a lot of patients that patients who are critically ill can get into. infection is a big issue. we worry about when anybody is significantly traumatized. they get a higher incidence of making clots in their veins. they get clots in their veins that can travel to their lungs and that can be a deadly scenario, and we worry about all

of the complications of pneumonia, if they are intubated and things like that. a lot of consequences of that reflect out from being this critically ill and we worry about them all. and try to prevent as many as possible. so far so good. >> we heard about the pulmonary impact on some of these. any neurological trauma you are concerned with? >> we -- in our population, one or two head injuries, not any very severe head injury which is very lucky. so we haven't had to deal with lots of mechanical head injuries. the other injuries that we always worry about in blasts and we've some of these, injuries to the eardrums and some of that. and we're -- we had all of our patients assessed by ear, nose, throat specialist to catch that over time and deal with that. >> what is the largest fragment? >> there were some fragments four or five centimeters, so big

pieces of stuff. >> you said there weren't too many severe head injuries. does that indicate anything about where the bomb was placed? >> i suppose it does to people who are experts at that. as you can tell, we have a lot of lower extremity injuries, so i think the damage was low to the ground and wasn't up. but now the patients who do have head injuries were blown into things probably or hit by fragments that went up. so hardton. >> patients have to undergo multiple surgeries, do you feel confidence you will be able to release them. but will it go from one hospital to rehab? >> generally, true for all trauma patients in general. we do the acute care part of their needs. deal with their wounds and orthopedic in all various injuries, and at some point who those things are stabilized, the next very important thing is to get them to rehab.

part of getting better. we try to move that process as quickly as possible, to get them to the rehab they need for whatever their injuries are. they are varied. >> is there a blood fly problem? >> no. we have no problems with blood supply. people looking to do things to help, blood donation is always good. you won't find a trauma surgeon that won't advocate for that. >> okay. thanks, everyone. >> thank you. >> reporter: we just heard from dr. peter burke, chief trauma surgeon at boston medical center. i talked to him yesterday, and he was telling me on monday afternoon, he was actually at a convention, a meeting in nevada, looked up while he was walking into his hotel and saw the news

on cnn and said, oh, my god, i have to get back to my team. flew back, they treated 23 patients, five of whom required amputations, two of whom needed a double amputation. ten patients in critical condition yesterday. today only two are. recovery is happening. one of the two in critical condition is a 5-year-old boy. chris, john. >> elizabeth cohen, thank you. the doctor won't be satisfied until all of the patients are home. thank you so much. >> terrible as the injuries are, those are the lucky ones. three people lost their lives. it's not just about how they died, but who they were. we have been captivated by the 8-year-old boy, but now we hear about 29-year-old krystle campbell. worked hard, lover loved by her friends, we sat down with her

grandma. she told us as much as it hurts, she knows that her favorite grandchild is now an angel. take a look and listen. what do you think when you see this photo. >> beauty. >> what was she like in high school? >> smiling all the time. all the time she smiled. no matter what happened, she come out with a smile. i used to love to dress her up. put her hair in long curls, and bows in her hair. loves it, go out prancing, proud as anything to school. and then in school, the teachers would say, oh, krystle, you look so beautiful who did your hair? my nana did my hair. >> you had a special bond. >> oh, yes.

>> how dkrystle make you feel? >> oh, full. my whole heart and soul. she made me happy. i looked forward to her coming over to see me. >> as she grew up, she din change. >> she still came, made me feel the same way, happy. >> what kind of young woman did she become? >> smart, ambitious. >> and she wanted -- she never complained on what she wanted. or talked about it that much. she just used to say i'll just take one day at a time, nana. see what happens. >> she just took life as it came. >> she loved life. >> lots of friends? >> oh, lots of friends. lots of friends. her disposition, her attitude.

she was so bubbly all the time and laughing. >> when she got a little older, there was a time when you got a little sick. and she there was for up. >> yes, definitely. >> tell me about it. >> when i got home from the hospital, she came over one day and said, nana, i said i think i want to move in with you. and i said why? and i said i figure you should have somebody with you to stay with you, make sure you are okay. i said you really want to do that, krystle? your whole life is ahead of you. i can make it, arrange it to be here with you. >> what did that mean to you? >> oh, everything. everything. it kept me so well. i felt good, and i felt comfortable and safe with her in the house with me. >> solidified her as number one

too, right? that it was after that? everybody else was in a race for second. >> exactly. >> what do you think when you see her on the tv? >> huh? >> what do you see her on the tv? >> i wish i could go up, grab her, kiss her and hug her. i can still feel her. >> how do you make sense of this? >> i don't. i don't make any sense of it at all. i can't believe it's happened. i can't believe it. i won't even accept it now, and i'm sitting here now with you. i'm having a hard time. when i see her on the tv, it's killing me inside. >> it's not real. >> huh? >> you can't believe something like this would happen to somebody you love. >> no. a lot of things on my mind. >> how are you going to remember krystle? >> with love. all my love will be there forever. my heart, she's in my heart. always is, all of them.

that's my krystle. and she'll always be my krystle. i love her. i love her so much. i love all of them, but she's -- she's my special one. >> it so was important to put some detail on the life to go with the face and the name of krystle, and also grandma willa was instructive of boston strong. she's hurting, but she loved. and she knows she has to move on. the combination of emotion, a lot of people doing that now. >> so clear krystle's love lives on through grandma wilma. so strong so remarkable. "starting point" back live in just a moment from boston. stay with us.

that's all from "starting point." i'm john